00:00Tomorrow night is game number three in our first change of location in the conference finals round around the association in Minneapolis.
00:09The Timberwolves down 0-2, head back home trying to keep their season in this series afloat in what you could describe as a must win or can't lose.
00:20Game number three on a Saturday night in the Twin Cities.
00:23Oklahoma City up 2-0 remains a favorite DRS for game number three, but this would be the shortest number in favor of the Thunder in any of their 14 playoff games thus far.
00:36They have been at least a five-point favorite in their previous 13.
00:40Of course, they have covered winning by 15-plus in each of the first two games in the Western Conference Finals.
00:45Now, a three-point spread in favor of Oklahoma City on the road for game number three on FanDuel, a total at 218.
00:55Donnie, I think you sum up game threes very well.
00:58It's a kitchen sink game because if you get in an 0-3 hole, there is very, very little light at the end of the tunnel.
01:05You are going to fight, but your promise of winning that series is virtually gone.
01:11So, at least to give yourself some hope and optimism, a game three victory is important.
01:17And with how short this spread is, that's what Minnesota needs to do, win outright to keep the Western Conference Finals rolling along.
01:24Yeah, it's not like, you know, a lower-seeded team.
01:26Like, hey, the number one seed's down 0-3.
01:28Well, they're the better team.
01:29Maybe there's a chance they can win four straight games.
01:31This is the opposite.
01:32This is the best team in the NBA that's up 3-0 on you.
01:34And your expectations are, not only are we going to win this game tonight in game number four, but then again, win the next three games, which a couple of those will be on the opposing team's home court.
01:43It doesn't happen.
01:43And that's what we always talk about in the NBA or any sport particularly there.
01:46The series doesn't start until a road team wins on the opposing team's home court.
01:50You are going to need the Minnesota Timberwolves to win this game and hope to stave off that, oh, yeah, now we take a stranglehold on this overall Western Conference Finals.
01:59But you're all giving them a puncher's chance.
02:01You know, it's not eight-and-a-half, nine-and-a-half points that you might think if it was OKC at home up 2-0.
02:07You're on your home court.
02:08The expectations are you're a good basketball team.
02:11You got here by beating some quality opponents, and you are home, which means you're supposed to win those games.
02:16It's hard winning regular season games against bad teams on the road because it's not your environment.
02:21You're going to have a sold-out crowd in Minnesota.
02:23It's going to be amped up, ready for this game.
02:25Anthony Edwards got up off the mat.
02:27They didn't win the game, but at least say, hey, you know what?
02:28I'm in this series now.
02:29I dropped 30-plus points.
02:31I shot a ton.
02:32Let me just clean up that three-point line.
02:33If I shoot 10 times, let me make at least four of those, and maybe our fortunes will change.
02:37And also understanding you need to get off to a great start as well as I talk about the New York Knicks at home tonight.
02:44Same thing with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
02:46You can't be down eight points at the break going, got them right where we want them.
02:49Let's have a big second half.
02:50That doesn't work against a team that's better than you.
02:52You have to shock them.
02:53You have to beat them in the first quarter.
02:55Be up at the break.
02:56Don't let them make those necessary adjustments, which they did in game number two on their home court.
03:00You make the adjustments, and you extend the lead into the third quarter.
03:04And that's my viewpoints on that game tomorrow because for Minnesota, they're getting a lot of respect on that line.
03:09Only, let's just say, two-and-a-half, three-point favorites right now for OKC.
03:12But you've got to prove your mettle early on.
03:15Don't let this become a runaway because if it is, we don't even need to tune in for game number four.
03:19Yeah, there's not a third quarter line out just yet, but that might be the most crucial 12-minute period of this game, DRS.
03:27The Timberwolves had a four-point lead at the break in the opening game in OKC.
03:32It was the Thunder absolutely dismantling the Timberwolves, overwhelming them in that second half, winning the second half by a combined 30 points.
03:40Last night, OKC started to pull away at the end of the opening half, taking an eight-point lead, 58-50, into the halftime break.
03:49But they won the third quarter by 14, and maybe even more critically, DRS, they ended the third quarter on a 25-8 run to take a 22-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
04:01Minnesota tried, but they never did cut that deficit to single digits in those final 12 minutes.
04:08The Timberwolves as an underdog so far in this postseason, three games against the Lakers in the opening round, the first two games here in the Western Conference Finals, now two and three straight up and against the spread.
04:20And one thing that has really stood out to me about the Thunder's performances, not the fact they're up 2-0, not the fact they have that commanding lead with home floor advantage being the NBA's best team all year long,
04:31but something that was maybe a slight cause of concern, or at least something that was slightly missing for the Thunder early on in their opening two rounds.
04:40Oklahoma City wasn't covering.
04:43They won their first two games against Memphis by at least 19 points, but then were tested by the Grizz in the final two games of that series,
04:51had not covered DRS except once in the opening six games of their second round series against Denver.
04:59Just two covers in their last nine games entering these Western Conference Finals against Minnesota.
05:06They have won each of the first two games of this set by 15 points.
05:10They are now 6-7 against the spread in their 13 games as a favorite, booked as a favorite in every game so far in this postseason.
05:18Yeah, this might be a great game, too, to take a look at for game number three with how electric that atmosphere is going to be in Minnesota,
05:23where maybe you get in a live wager at this point saying, you know what, I like the Timberwolves in this game,
05:28but if they start off a little bit slow and I can get them at plus 5, plus 6, plus 7 early on,
05:33you know they're going to have to give it their best because the most embarrassing thought process would be OKC just comes in and absolutely blasts them.
05:4115, 20-point win in their own building and controls the entire length of the game.
05:45But also, you might be able to get an added advantage if you like OKC, where you have to weather that storm early.
05:50Maybe it's a 9-point lead for Minnesota after 1.
05:52Maybe it's a 12-point lead for Minnesota at the break.
05:55You know OKC is going to roll like, ah, just didn't go in our favor here for game number three.
05:59We'll see in game number four.
06:00This seems like an unbelievable chance to get in with some live wagering,
06:04depending on what you thought about the process before the game even started.
